8-6-18 No Salmon Means No SRKWs

Monday, August 6th

Even before moving here in 2004, I had heard that the SRKWs were referred to 'as like the canary in the coal mine'. 
-And now they are the 'canary'.

The SRKWs had been demonstrating, by their travel patterns and locations, that the wild salmon were declining, but it seems that little attention was paid to the plight of the whales.
-After all, they were still showing up in these waters.

In 2010, the sockeye preseason predictions were for a 'moderate return' of 3,000,000 sockeye.  Three months later it had proved to be the largest sockeye return in 97 years - the number?  34,000,000.  (The whales were here over 120 consecutive days.) It was anticipated that with a 4-year cycle, the 2014 could be even larger.
-But it wasn't. It was below the lowest predicted return numbers.

Then Dec 2014-Dec 2015 there were several babies born into the SRKW Community...and 'all of a sudden' everything was 'just fine'.
-But everything wasn't 'just fine'.

Now the SRKWs are barely in their core-summer-habitat.
-There isn't enough food.

Wild salmon are the Backbone of the Salish Sea.
-Waiting to make decisions is NOT a viable working model.
Waiting, begets more loss, more decline...and now on the road to extinction for the SRKWs?

The Salish Sea is broken.
It's broken in Canadian waters.
It's broken in U.S. waters.

It needs to be fixed before it's too late. 
Too late for the SRKWs.
Too late for the wild salmon.
Too late for all other marine life.
Too late for humans.

What about YOU?
What are you willing to do everyday to make changes that will help planet earth heal?
The government isn't doing it, so it's up to each of us.

You've seen the lists, links, about things you can do. Start doing them and do more.

Vote - It matters.
Vote for those who see the value in thinking into the future while actively fixing the present.

Here is an image taken of Slick J-16 with Scarlet J-50 by her side, as they passed Lime Kiln lighthouse, on July 23rd.  I thank them for giving us this look, a look that will not reveal just how bad Scarlet is.